Bizarre Teaching Moment #12: Skirting the Issue

~The last couple of weeks have been a little sad for me, because it's the end of the school term and I've had to say goodbye to some of my students. Fortunately, since I'll be here three weeks into the new term, it isn't nearly as hard-hitting for me as it is for most of the teachers, who suddenly leave all of their students at once. The only ones I've had to say goodbye to are those who haven't renewed their contracts, for one reason or another.

Today's Bizarre Teaching Moment comes courtesy of one such student, a high school girl who is graduating and will be attending a university (and is hence unable to continue English lessons here in Nagaoka). She's the girl who won the prefectural speech contest a few months ago, and our lessons have always been great fun. Today, for our last lesson, we worked with adverbs, such as how to change an adjective (like "happy") into an adverb ("happily") and use it in a sentence.

We were playing a game where you select an action card and draw an adverb card, and act out the action modified by the adverb. The other person has to guess the adverb being used; for example, "You are studying nervously!" One of the adverbs she used was violently, and I asked her if she ever did anything violently. She thought about it, then said no, but added that yesterday her father had slammed a car door shut violently after they had argued.

What, I asked, had they argued about? It turns out that her father had noticed that the skirt his daughter was wearing with her school uniform was shorter than it's supposed to be. The dress code at Japanese schools is notorious for making girls wear short skirts, and many of them take it literally as far as they can. Considering Japan's male-dominated culture, I can see why this policy remains "popular" and unlikely to change anytime soon. On the other hand, when I saw high-school girls wearing short skirts in the middle of winter, it always looked to me like they were freezing cold. Oh, the sacrifices people will make to keep up appearances...

As for my student, she was amazed when I informed her that in most American public schools, there are no uniforms. She was also shocked that American girls are allowed to wear earrings; in Japan, schools don't allow students to have piercings of any kind and severely restrict what, if any, jewelery can be worn.

Girls, consider yourselves lucky that most of you didn't go to a school with this kind of dress code. Guys, consider yourselves deprived that most of you didn't go to a school with this kind of dress code. ~Oyasumi!

DON'T Call Me Junior!

~When George Washington was unanimously elected to be the first President of the United States, people were unsure of how to address him. Should the title be "His Excellency", the usual honorific for Washington? Or perhaps, "Sir George Washington"? Fed up with this nonsense, Washington declared that his official title would simply be "Mister". From that day forth, every Chief Executive has been "Mr. President".

The situation in Japan is considerably more complicated. There are many different suffixes that can be attached to a person's name, and using the proper suffix is an essential part of speaking correct Japanese. Most Americans, I'd guess, have heard of the suffix "-san" (as in, "Tanaka-san"), but there are several more to know.

• As I've said, -san is the basic, default suffix. While most foreigners equate it with "Mr." or "Mrs.", it's not quite the same; instead, it indicates a level of polite respect beyond a simple "Mr." If you're not sure what suffix to use, -san will always work and will offend no one. However, unless you're talking to a child, always attach -san to the person's surname, not their given name!

The -san suffix is also used in some unusual situations that have no parallel in English, such as for the names of mountains. Mount Fuji, for example, is Fuji-san in Japanese. Young children often attach -san onto the names of animals. One of my students is a young girl who always addresses the teddy bear we use in class as "Kuma-san" (kuma meaning bear).

• A very common suffix around my workplace is -sensei, which you've likely heard of before (especially if you've been following this blog!). "Sensei" does not exactly mean teacher, but rather anyone whose knowledge is superior to ours. Hence, a teacher can be a sensei, but so can certain professionals (usually, doctors get the -sensei suffix).

Unlike the other suffixes, "sensei" can be used alone, or as a suffix; most of my students refer to me as "Sensei" or "David-sensei". They're not supposed to speak Japanese, but I make an exception for this! I also refer to the Japanese teachers at my school by their given names with -sensei attached, even though they are not technically my teachers. Although they have, of course, taught me a lot!

• -kun is another very common suffix. It's used in casual settings between equals, and is therefore less respectful than -san, but more familiar and friendly. This suffix is usually used for men, but sometimes can be used for women; in the patriarchal Japanese culture, attaching -kun to a woman's name indicates a significant level of respect, and hence is something of a complement.
  

One peculiar usage of -kun is in the Japanese Parliament (called the Diet), where legislators address each other using -kun. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, for example, is referred to as "Abe-san" by the average Japanese, but as "Abe-kun" by his colleagues. To me, this comes off as vaguely communist, like calling your coworkers "comrades".

• -chan is a term of affection used only by people who are very familiar and fond of each other. Children often use this term when referring to each other; for example, the student who calls the bear "Kuma-san" refers to herself in the third-person using her name and -chan. This is considered very childish, but then, she is a child.
  

-chan can also be used among family members, especially when referring to beloved grandparents, etc. "Oba-chan" is roughly equivalent to "grandma", as opposed to the more formal, "Oba-san" (closer to grandmother).

• -sama is a title of great respect for someone of much higher status. It's used in very formal situations. Most store clerks and staff members refer to customers using this suffix, which to me comes off as a little strange. One common usage is "Miina-sama", which roughly means, "Ladies and Gentlemen".

-sama is also used for individuals whom you greatly respect. I've heard Japanese people refer to their beloved Princess Aiko as "Aiko-sama" and her infant cousin Prince Hisahito as "Hisahito-sama", despite the fact that they are children.

• -senpai means "senior", and is used in academic settings to refer to someone in a higher class than you. It's only used for males, and is sometimes used in businesses as Japanese companies greatly respect seniority. The opposite of -senpai is -kohai ("junior"), but it isn't demeaning to refer to someone as your junior; rather, it's a sign that you respect them despite the fact that they are below you. I'm sure Indy would disagree with this assessment.
  

There are also many other, less common suffixes. For example, -dono is a somewhat archaic term used to refer to customers in business communications, -chama is an affectionate, childish combination of -san and -chan, and -tan is slang for -san. There are a few others reserved for royalty.

My favorite uncommon suffix is -bouzu, which roughly means "punk". It was originally the title of Buddhist monks, but has somehow come to refer to young boys who behave impudently. I've only heard it a few times, but it always makes me laugh, since so many of my own students deserve to called "-bouzu"! ~Oyasumi!

Chopstick Ninjas

~Chopsticks are the primary eating utensils in Japan, used on everything from rice to ramen noodles. Mastering their use is a goal that I have not yet achieved but am making steady progress towards. The trick is to simply use them whenever possible, and to resist the siren song of the oh-so-tempting fork, spoon, and that most-advanced of eating utensils, the spork.

The Japanese word for chopsticks is hashi, but the term usually used is o-hashi. The 'o' prefix is a mark of respect, used on words such as 'o-tosan' (father), 'o-kaasan' (mother), and 'o-mizu' (water for drinking). It's similar to the archaic use of 'o' in English; for example, "O great king," and "O Lord!". I find it interstesting that such a linguistic similarity exists in otherwise separate languages.

There are a number of rules and etiquette guidelines in effect when using chopsticks. For example, you should never put your chopsticks on the table when you're not using them; instead, restaurants provide a small holder to rest them on. It's also considered extremely rude to use another person's chopsticks.

Many restaurants in Japan serve food in a communal fashion; it arrives on one big plate, and everybody transfers their desired portion to their own plate. When doing this, you're supposed to reverse your chopsticks, and take food with the unused ends. This is especially important when taking noodles, for example, so as not to "contaminate" the food. Also, however tempting in might be, never stick your chopsticks vertically into rice. This is done only during Buddhist ceremonies as offerings to the deceased!

For lunch, I often buy o-bento (packaged lunch boxes; note the 'o' again) from the local supermarket, and I'm always provided with disposable chopsticks. However, in an effort to be more environmentally friendly, I purchased a set of reusable chopsticks for less than a dollar. They even came with a carrying case. Now, I decline the offered chopsticks by saying, "Keko desu" (that's ok).

As a going-away present, the mother of one of my students gave me a gift of high-quality chopsticks. When she gave them to me, I noted that there were two sets, to which she replied, "Use them when you are married." I wasn't quite sure how to respond to that!

Aside from eating, there are other uses for these eating utensils: I've incorporated chopsticks into some of the games that my students play in class. For example, I have a set of foam letters that I scatter over the table, and students with chopsticks have to listen to the word I say and grab the first letter of the word from the table. The first student to accumulate a requisite number of letters becomes the "Chopstick Ninja" and acts as the teacher, calling out words for the other students.

I've found that they are far more proficient in chopstick-wielding than I am, as I discovered to my chagrin when I tried to compete against them. Although I am, of course, much faster to recognize the correct letter, I Just. Can't. Grab. The. Damn. Letter. Using. Chopsticks! It's maddening, yet hilarious.

Do any of you use chopsticks regularly? If not, try using them the next time you're at an oriental restaurant. It's a real challenge. Can you become a true Chopstick Ninja? ~Oyasumi!

Quake 3

~Another moderately strong earthquake hit the region of Japan where I live. The earth began shaking at around 9:43 am by my clock, and it was significantly stronger than the last one. Fortunately, the epicenter of the earthquake was not, like the last one, centered on my town, but rather several hundred kilometers away in Ishikawa Prefecture.

With an estimated magnitude of 7.1, today's quake was much stronger than the 4.6 from January. It also lasted longer; there was perhaps a whole minute of moderate shaking, followed by another minute or so of small tremors.

Here in Nagaoka, I couldn't detect any damage, but according to news reports the quake caused several buildings to collapse in Ishikawa Prefecture and injured 150 people. An elderly woman was also killed when a stone lantern in her garden fell on her, and 1,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in case of aftershocks. I'd hate to see what an earthquake that strong would do to Nagaoka.

As I say, never a dull moment here in Japan...~Oyasumi!